1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment such as cotton harvesters, and, more specifically, to harvesters with material handling and compacting structure.
2) Related Art
Harvesters such as cotton pickers and cotton strippers in the past have included a large basket for receiving cotton material removed from plants. Efficiently compressing the cotton material and maintaining the material in a compacted state in the basket and transferring of the material in the basket into a boll buggy or cotton compactor quickly and without spillage have been constant sources of problems. Providing adequate storage space on the harvester while maintaining shipping and transport height within legal restrictions has also been difficult.
A harvester with integral compacting and bale forming structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,446. Such structure provides efficient compacting and storage on the harvester and improves cotton handling. The bale forming structure, however, has rigid side walls separated by a plurality of rollers having continuous belts defining a baling chamber, and tends to be quite large. The bale forming structure cannot be telescoped easily into a reduced height transport configuration. Therefore, maintaining the transport and shipping height within the maximum height restrictions without decreasing harvester storage capacity or bale handling functions has presented problems.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved cotton harvester with a module builder and module handling system.
It is another object to provide a transport system for a cotton harvester with a bale forming structure. It is a further object to provide such a system which overcomes most or all of the aforementioned problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved transport system for the bale forming structure of a harvester wherein the height of the harvester can be minimized for transport while a large bale capacity can be maintained for increased productivity during harvest. It is another object to provide such a system which can be moved quickly between harvest and transport positions.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved height reducing system for a harvester with an integral baling or compacting device wherein telescoping of the device is not possible or practical.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved transport system for a bale forming structure mounted on a cotton harvester, wherein the bale discharge system is advantageously utilized to lower the height of the structure for transport. It is still another object to provide such a transport system wherein the bale forming structure includes sections that are moveable relative to each other to discharge a bale, and the movement of the sections can be controlled to provide a raised harvest position or a lowered transport position. It is yet another object to provide such a structure wherein the sections are connected by an upper pivot and are selectively moved, either by guiding one of the sections on a ramp which is part of a bale handler and bale support or controlling one of the sections by a cylinder, to lower the pivot for transport.
A cotton harvester includes a frame supporting rear-mounted compacting and baling structure receiving harvested cotton and providing a compact bale as front-mounted harvesting units move forwardly over a field of cotton. In the embodiment shown, the baling structure includes a clamshell type of housing having front and rear sections pivotally connected at an upper location and supporting belts for forming a large round compact bale of cotton. When a full-sized bale is completed, discharge cylinders pivot the rear section of the housing rearwardly and upwardly while the forward section remains generally stationary, and the formed bale is discharged rearwardly and downwardly into a cradle arrangement at the rear of the frame for intermediate storage and transport so harvesting can continue.
To move the baling structure from a raised harvesting position to a lowered position for reduced transport height, the upper portion of the forward section is rocked downwardly and rearwardly while the sections are opened relative to each other to lower the pivot. In one embodiment, the rear section is guided down the bale discharge structure after the forward section is released for pivoting about a lowermost pivotal connection with the frame as the discharge cylinders pivot the sections about the upper location. In a second embodiment, separate cylinders connected between the frame and the front section positively rock the front section rearwardly and downwardly, and the discharge cylinders are activated to open the sections.
The transport height of the harvester baler can be reduced substantially without affecting bale capacity. The configuration of the bale forming chamber is advantageously utilized for the height reducing function so that the complexity and manufacturing costs of the system are minimized. Changing from field-working to transport is an easy and quick procedure. Productivity of the harvester is increased since the unit can quickly release a bale or module without stopping. An accumulator upstream of the forming chamber facilitates continuous harvester operation while the baling structure is unloading a finished bale. The accumulator telescopes to reduce transport height. The rear bale carrier allows the bale to be placed at a convenient location in the field rather than at random locations dependent on row length and cotton yield.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description in view of the drawings.